Homemade Coconut Milk - Waiting for Smoothies Season

Nut milks are the base of most smoothies and juices I prepare at home. They are a pretty crucial ingredient of my pantry. I am not sure if you are with me on this one, but I can’t find a decent nut or coconut milk anywhere in the stores and that’s why I decided to learn to make my own. 

Spring is around the corner and for me that’s the start of smoothies and juices season, where I practise a little detox and just shed a little extra fat accumulated during the winter months when, I admit, I often need my comfort food to get through the season. 

By the way, for the records, I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. Our body asks for it for a reason, because our body carries a wisdom we have long lost and we should try to listen to more often. Its wisdom is our genetic memory build over millennia of evolution. It’s the wisdom that comes straight from mother nature’s mouth. Fat isolates and helps us to deal with the cold better. Obviously,  we are not sleeping in caves and living outdoor as long as we used to before, so let’s not exaggerate with the winter excuse but still, the principle stands. Winter calls for a different diet.

Coming back to smoothies, I get so frustrated reading the ingredients of the nut milks every time. I have bought countless brands and some are better than others but the bottom line is the same: they are all full of so many ingredients, some even unknown while they should just be nuts and water. Why is that?

I am not going to rant about this here, but if you don’t already, start reading carefully the ingredients of what you eat. I am totally convinced that many of the illnesses that affect our modern society could be eliminated if we would simply eat natural ingredients, yes I mean things that when you read the name, you can actually associate with a real, natural produce.

I have been struggling to make decent nut milks for years until I recently spoke to my friend Olivia and the mystery was easily solved. I just needed a better mixer, a good quality high speed one. So, a Vitamix after, I have managed to produce beautiful homemade milk that tastes wonderful and contains only nuts and water and stays fresh in my fridge for about the same time common cow milk would. 

The coconut milk in the recipe below, it’s lighter and more delicate in taste compared to the commercial one and so delicious. I hope you will give it a try. It’s very simple to make and you can even freeze it if you wish. Still a better way to preserve than whatever they do to what we buy in shops. 

Coconut milk has countless virtues. It’s an hormone balancer, a metabolism booster and a brain activator. It full of good fats and mineral salts that really act as a pick-me-up daily formula. It’s good anywhere. I have even tasted it in coffee and loved it. Cook with it, drink it plain, use it in smoothies, lattes or with your favourite hot drink. It’s going to bring a gentle wind of exotic memories in your day and improve your health in so many ways.

Ingredients:

Approx ½ cup of fresh coconut meat

4 cups of water

Pinch of pink salt

Procedure:

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until really smooth.

Pass it through a cheese cloth.

Store in the fridge. Before drinking, mix it. Note that it’s normal for the pulp and cream part to separate after a while and to sit on top of the water. Just shake it before drinking.

The pulp remained in the cheese cloth will look almost like flour and can be store in the fridge up to a week’s time. You can use it for biscuits, bliss balls, chocolates or even in a Asian inspired dish for a boost in fibers.